BuzzEssen Foods

Mofongo's roots lead to the western African Fufu, mixed with Spanish and Taíno influences. Fufu is made from various starchy vegetables and was introduced to the Caribbean by Africans in the Spanish New World colonies such as Cuba (fufu de plátano), Dominican Republic (mangú), and Puerto Rico (mofongo) this also most likely includes Colombia (cayeye), Amazon area and Peru (tacacho). Fufu consists of...

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The sirloin steak is cut from the back of the animal. In a common U.S. butchery, the steak is cut from the rear back portion of the animal, continuing off the short loin from which T-bone, porterhouse, and club steaks are cut. The sirloin is actually divided into several types of steak. The top sirloin is the most prized of these and is...

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Tandoori chicken is a dish originating in the Indian subcontinent. It is widely popular in South Asia particularly India and Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Western world. It consists of roasted chicken prepared with yogurt and spices. The name comes from the type of cylindrical clay oven, a tandoor, in which the dish is traditionally prepared. The chicken is marinated in yogurt...

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Rendang is made from beef (or occasionally beef liver, chicken, mutton, water buffalo, duck, or vegetables like jackfruit or cassava). Chicken or duck rendang also contains tamarind and is usually not cooked for as long as beef rendang.  The original Indonesian-Minangkabau rendang has two categories, rendang darek and rendang pesisir. Rendang darek (‘land rendang’) is an umbrella term for dishes from old regions...

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As an archipelagic nation, ikan bakar is very popular in Indonesia, commonly found in many places; from an Acehnese beach right down, a restaurant perched over Kupang's harbor in East Nusa Tenggara, to the center of Jakarta's business district. Various specific version exist, including as Sundanese ikan bakar Cianjur, which mainly grilled freshwater fish, such as carp and gourami, and Balinese ikan bakar...

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Gudeg is a traditional Javanese cuisine from Yogyakarta and Central Java, Indonesia. Gudeg is made from young unripe jack fruit (Javanese: gori, Indonesian: nangka muda) boiled for several hours with palm sugar, and coconut milk. Additional spices include garlic, shallot, candlenut, coriander seed, galangal, bay leaves, and teak leaves, the latter giving a reddish-brown color to the dish. It is often described as...

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Lontong Cap Go Meh is a Peranakan Chinese Indonesian take on traditional Indonesian dishes, more precisely Javanese cuisine. It is lontong rice cake served with richly-flavoured dishes which includes opor ayam chicken in coconut milk, sayur lodeh vegetables soup, hot and spicy liver, hard boiled pindang egg, koya powder made of soy and dried shrimp or beef floss, pickles, chili paste and prawn...

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Betutu is a Balinese dish of steamed or roasted chicken or duck in rich bumbu betutu (betutu spice mix). This highly seasoned and spiced dish is a popular dish in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia. An even spicier version is available using extra-spicy sauce made from uncooked (raw) onion slices mixed with red chili peppers and coconut oil. Betutu is a richly spiced Balinese...

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Eurasian, as its name implies, is a mix of European and Asian. Generally speaking, in Singapore and Malaysia, Eurasian food is a mix of Asian food with a strong Portuguese influence, although the term Eurasian was initially coined for Anglo Indians in the time of the British Raj in India.  The traditional method of making this is to crumble a scone or two...

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A well-known and beloved Cambodian dish found at streetside vendors, restaurants, produce markets (psahs) such as the Psah Thom Thmey (Central Market, Phnom Penh) and in shophouses. In English it's often simply called simply Khmer noodles, owing to its ubiquity across the country. Nom ban chok is a typical breakfast food and was originally a regional speciality from Kampot province, consisting of noodles...

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It’s a famed dish, a salad made from pickled tea leaves. Apparently Burma is one of only a few countries in the world that drinks and eats tea leaves. The texture of the salad was unique, a adoring combination of soft, crunchy, crispy, and saucy. I could eat this salad constantly for days.  ...

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Bak kut teh, which literally means “meat bone tea,” is a tasty soup made with long-simmered pork ribs spiced up with a variety of herbs such as garlic, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, and star anise. Mushrooms and dried tofu are also popular additions. The soup may be garnished with green onions, coriander, or fried shallots. The secret of bak kut teh’s tastiness is the...

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The roll is comprised of a crispy green onion pancake wrapped around braised beef slices with a handful of pickled greens and cilantro. One bite and you'll witness how the dark sweetish bean sauce is the perfect condiment to officiate the marriage of pancake, green onion, beef, and veggies. Though they may be a bit on the oily side, these beef rolls are...

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Soondooboo chigae is a spicy stew made with soft uncoagulated tofu that is produced by compressing and curdling tofu to remove excess water. There are numerous variations of this dish consisting of seafood, beef, pork and/or vegetable contents. Plain soondooboo chigae is usually made with some added pieces of pork, several small clams, chopped garlic, and red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru) along with...

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Sushi is the most famous Japanese dish outside of Japan, and one of the most popular dishes among the Japanese themselves. In Japan, sushi is usually enjoyed on special occasions, such as a celebration. During the Edo period, "sushi" refered to pickled fish preserved in vinegar. Nowadays sushi can be defined as a dish containing rice which has been prepared with sushi vinegar....

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Wontons are known as chāo shǒu (literally means "crossed hands"), added to a clear soup along with other ingredients, sometimes deep-fried. Several shapes are common, depending on the region and cooking methods. The most famous are called Sichuan-style wontons, a celebrated snack in Chengdu. They are famous for their thin skin and rich meat filling as well as their soup, made of chicken,...

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Peking Duck is a famous duck dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era. The meat is prized for its thin, crisp skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook. Ducks bred specially for the dish are slaughtered after 65 days and seasoned before being...

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This dish comes from Uzbekistan and goes by a few different names: basma and dimlama/dumlama. According to Stalic, basma refers to this version, where everything is put into a cold kazan and then steamed, while dimlama refers to a similar dish where everything is fried before steaming. Basma is an incredibly simple dish to prepare with amazing results: tender, juicy, lamb meat that...

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Chorba is traditionally prepared with mutton or lamb which can also be substituted with beef or poultry depending on the recipes and regions. Chorba is definitely the culinary symbol of Algeria as much as harira is the same for Morocco but as iconic as it is, it was not born there. It was actually imported to Algeria by Turkish invaders in the sixteenth...

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Sambusa is a fried or baked dish with a savoury filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, lentils, macaroni, noodles or minced meat (lamb, beef or chicken). Pine nuts can also be added. Its size and consistency may vary, but typically it is distinctly triangular or tetrahedral in shape.  ...

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Shashlik (meaning skewered meat) was originally made of lamb. Nowadays it is also made of pork or beef depending on local preferences and religious observances. The skewers are either threaded with meat only, or with alternating pieces of meat, fat, and vegetables, such as bell pepper, onion, mushroom and tomato.  ...

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Dumplings are a universally-beloved dish the world over, and while we usually think of ravioli as the meat-filled pasta of choice, elsewhere in the world they default to gyoza, jiaozi and manti. Manti have made a fascinating culinary journey, starting with the Mongols and migrating to the Ottoman Empire in Turkey and from there spreading all across the Caucasus region and into the...

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This ethereal mixture of rice and lamb, redolent of sweet and warming spices, is the national dish of Afghanistan. Kabuli pulao takes its name from Kabul, the capital of that land-locked Central Asian nation. Kabuli pulao is special occasion food in Afghanistan. "Pulao" is a type of rice dish made with a special, two-stepped cooking process for the rice that is unmatched in...

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Polo (a Central Asian variant on the word pilaf) is a food staple found across Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and parts of northwestern China. The different peoples of each region have their own takes, and their own flavors, for the recipe. This recipe is for Uyghur polo, the variant of the dish found in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region....

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